Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1887-09-23
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
THE CONSTITUTION. !.
Some Interesting Bits of History of
Men and Matters in 1897. %5#
Historical.

One hundred years ago there was no
United States Of America. There was no
nation on this continent--only English
French, Spanish and Portuguese colonies
from Hudson's bay to the Rio de La Plata.
There was in this country no president, no
cabinet, no senate and no national treasury:
there was no public credit, no power to create
national revenue, no authority to secure
union at home and respect abroad. Even the
piratical Barbary states sneered at the talk Of
American power. The contribution box was
passed Sunday after Sunday in New England
churches for means to ransom American
sailors in Algerian captivity. The last-the
definitive-treaty Of peace had been signed at
Versailles Oh Sept. 8, 1888, and the army had
been disbanded with mere fraction Of it's
pay. None of the treaties recognized the ex-
istence Of a new nation-the Independence
and sovereignty Of thirteen colonies, each by
name, were separately acknowledged The
public securities were steadily declining, the
worn soldier Of liberty sought his desolated
home with only wounds and glory for his
pay. Not because the country was poor--it
was admittedly rich in resources that could
soon be converted into cash-but there was
no central power; there were thirteen sepa-
rately independent sovereignties bound to-
could not be called charter of union, was
lily defined as confederation, and scarcely
merited even the title Of league or compact.
Each state had Its own army, its own
currency and banking system, its own COM
mercial marine, It's own system Of ad-
ministration, and, above all, it's own system
of customs duties, one state tariffing against
another. In short, each state held in itself
the complete power Of the sword and the
purse, and only obeyed the mandate of the
confederation congress SO far and at such
time as the state chose. The adverse vote Of
one state could defeat an important law.
The plan was in imitation of that of the
united provinces Of the Netherlands in the
preceding century-a very poor model in
deed, and very badly initiated. The system
almost ruined the united provinces and was
utterly unsuited to q confederation in which
the area of single state was greater than
that Of the Netherlands
There had been three governments-Colo-
nial, Revolutionary or Continental, and Con-
federated. The Colonial had ended in revo-
luton, the royal governors flying to British
ships and the people seizing the power; the
Continental began to take form in the first
congress at Philadelphia, September, 1774,
but could not be called complete liz it alD till
few weeks after the Declaration of Inde-
pendence; and it expired peaceably in March,
17S1, when the last state (Maryland acceded
to the Articles Of Confederation, and the con-
gress then in session at once proceeded to
act under its new powers. The Colonial had
expired in revolution and the Continental had
grown slowly into the Confederated; and
now the Confederation was dying of dry rot.
1t only had power to "request" Of the states;
each successive requisition was met with
more Indifference until, on Nov 1, 17s4,
Robert Morris announced that he could pay
no interest on any foreign loans and very
small fraction of the domestic claims, and
that he saw no way of securing a revenue
under the Confederation-then resigned his
post as superintendent Of the finances in
tone that seemed like wall of despair.